The War of the Ring The History of The Lord of the Rings Part Three

Tolkien, J. R. R.

ISBN 10: 039556008X / ISBN 13: 9780395560082

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1990

Octavo. Black cloth boards and spine with gilt lettering and design. Nearly unnoticable bump at the tail of the spine with a trace of rubbing at the head and tail. Light brown endpapers. Binding is straight and tight. Couple faint spots on the lower edge of the textblock. Pages, inside, are all clean, white, and crisp. 476 pages. Dust Jacket - has just the faintest trace of rubbing at the extreme tips of a few of the book's corners - otherwise clean, bright and sharp. $21.95 price on the upper corner of the front inside flap. Eighth book in the History of Middle Earth series; third installment in the History of the Lord of the Rings sequence within that series. Alan Lee artwork. Seller Inventory # 000208

Synopsis:

In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor. In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').

The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.

About the Author: J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished career as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He is the renowned creator of Middle-earth and author of the great modern classic, The Hobbit, the prelude to his epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Other works by J.R.R. Tolkien include The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 at the age of 81.

Christopher Tolkien, who formerly taught at Oxford University, is J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary executor. The editor of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales as well as the twelve-part series The History of Middle-earth, he lives in France.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The War of the Ring The History of The Lord ...
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
Publication Date: 1990
Binding: Hard Cover
Condition: VG+
Dust Jacket Condition: NF
Edition: First Edition, First Printing.